Water, Sewer Plan Approved

MIDDLETOWN — With little fanfare Tuesday night, the common council approved a multimillion-dollar project to create a single, central location for the city's water and sewer department.

But voters will get the final say.

The council unanimously approved a $3.3 million plan to convert a Berlin Street lumberyard into new headquarters for the water and sewer department.

The water pollution control authority has earmarked $2 million in water and sewer fees for the project. The city will bond out for the remaining $1.3 million.

Council members unanimously voted to send the project to a Nov. 7 referendum.

``These are improvements that must be made for security and safety,'' Mayor Dominique Thornton said.

Middletown's water and sewer department is scattered at various sites around the city. The department's administrative offices are temporarily housed at Riverview Center.

Proponents of the plan say a central location would improve worker efficiency and be more convenient for the public.

Guy Russo, water and sewer department director, has estimated that if voters approve the plan Nov. 7, the site could be ready for occupancy by spring 2002.

The site, at 82 Berlin St., is the former home of the Kogul Lumber Co. The city foreclosed on the property for back taxes in 1997.

In December 1999, the common council agreed to sell the 11-acre parcel to the water pollution control authority for $180,000 -- the approximate amount of taxes owed.

The water pollution control authority had to buy the property because the water and sewer department is a separate entity. It is funded through water and sewer user fees, not through the city's general fund.

Council members questioned Russo and members of the project's building committee in a special workshop before Tuesday night's regular council meeting.

Proponents said the plan to consolidate the offices should not cause an increase in city water and sewer rates over the next few years.